The Reason I Became a Witch
by FeltSlytherin
Summary: Hermione hates Draco and the story is revealed why. What happened during their 6th year...Today, Draco's a walking shell of a human and as much as she wants to hate him...
1. Here We Go Again

**The Reason I Became a Witch**

Hermione looked up and spotted him from what felt like miles and miles away. She met his gaze and their eyes locked for a while. During that time, she took notice in those piercing blue eyes. The eyes that could kill, Hermione noted, but she also noticed that there was something different about them. They seemed colder and more detached from the world than they were before. She looked away. What the hell did she care for? Nothing. She might've cared at one point, but she had moved on. This is what she told herself. She wasn't a silly, frivolous sixth year anymore. That girl had died along with her heart a year ago.

_"Well if it isn't Mudblood-Granger," sneered a voice Hermione knew all too well. "Did Weasley and Potter finally realize they didn't want someone with dirty blood hanging around in their shadows?" _

_Hermione opened her eyes and decided to give Malfoy something he didn't deserve; a simple glance. Taking a short break for herself, she had found herself a tree not too far away from the safety of the school, yet not too near the woods. It was perfect and secluded. It would've remained so if Malfoy hadn't come stumbling upon it and as much as she prayed to Merlin to send lightning and smite Malfoy to death, she knew it was near impossible, if not farfetched. "Pray tell why you've come to bother me, Malfoy. Shouldn't you be off, running along with your lackeys?"_

_ Draco let out a sneered scoff. "I shouldn't have to answer anything for the likes of you, mudblood." He stepped forward and kicked a rock in her direction. It had fallen short and failed to smack her in the face, which he had hoped for. _

_ "What a failure," Hermione uncaringly said out loud. "Your dear father would have had a massive heart attack if he had witness that." She glanced at the rock near her outstretched feet, then back to Malfoy. Her facial expression told him nothing, but her eyes did. They laughed at him._

_ Draco saw that glimmer in her eyes. Anger began to flow through him. Jokes and petty insults about him he could handle and shrug off, but mockery was another along with pity. He couldn't stand the two. And right now, he couldn't fucking stand being embarrassed, especially by the likes of her. The anger must've shown on his face because when he began to close the distance between them, with his fists visibly clenched, Hermione was already up, wand in hand._

_ "Using magic against other students outside of class is prohibited, mudblood," Draco said, giving her a smug-evil look. "Wouldn't want to get tangled with trouble, do you?"_

_ "Humor me, Malfoy. They'd see this as my self-defense against a violent person with a pureblood mentality," Hermione retorted. Draco made no move. They heard a faint and distant sound. The clock struck indicating a new hour. "Well, I don't know what you plan on doing with your useless time, Malfoy, but I've got to go despite how wonderful this encounter of ours has been."_

_ She stooped to retrieve a book on the ground and spared Malfoy a look before leaving. Malfoy followed her with his eyes until she was so far off, she was only a faint figure in the distance. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he stepped forward and reached out to the rock he had previously tried to use to his gain and put it in the safety of one of his pockets. _The next time I throw this_, Draco thought, _it won't be such a failure.

Upon boarding the train, Hermione was pulled along by the force that usually compelled her to sitting with Harry and Ron. They sat in an enclosed cabin and not long after, they were joined by Ginny and Luna. They had the usual conversations, discussing what they had done during the summer. When the trolley came along, Ron and Harry helped themselves to chocolate frogs, exploding bon-bons, and jelly slugs while everyone else chocked on their own laughter and disgust. While eating the jelly slugs, Harry had dared Ron to eat one without chewing it first. Ron had done so and was initially successful until he felt it crawling its way back up his throat, so his victory was short lived. He gagged the slug back out only to have it land straight on Hermione's shirt. Ron was wiping the saliva off his face before looking up at Hermione. Ginny was shrieking, calling him a filthy swine, while Luna took the liberty of removing the slug off Hermione using her own fingers, which made Harry grimace. She carefully unlocked and opened the window and let out the slug, but judging by the consecutive screams further down the train, everyone pretty much guessed the slug found a new window to attach itself to.

Hermione excused herself to the loo, leaving Harry and Luna alone to witness the Weasley siblings fighting with each other. She walked to find the loo and started to think she had gone too far when she could see the door separating the Slytherins from amongst the rest. Lavender emerged from a room Hermione didn't recognize. Before letting Lavender slide by her in that wretchedly narrow hallway, Hermione grabbed her and asked if that was the bathroom. Lavender nodded and when Hermione told her that the bathroom hadn't been there previously, Lavender took the time to quickly inform Hermione of the few renovations done over the summer.

When she had finished wiping the gunk off herself inflicted on her by either Ron or the slug, she pushed the door open without cautiously thinking of students passing by. Hermione heard a male voice swear seconds after the impact of the door. She stepped out to apologize, but stopped short when she saw that it was just Blaise Zabini.

"Mind apologizing, you stupid woman!" He sounded irritated, but he didn't _look _all that irritated when he saw that it was only Hermione. "Oh, it's Granger," he initially said. Then he added, "You look awfully lovely this year, love."

Hermione wasn't taken by surprised with that comment. Blaise was a Slytherin, yes, but he wasn't a raging bastard every minute of the day like the others. He had his moments, but Hermione knew he was still dangerous all the same. She was careful around him.

"Thank you, Blaise," she replied in a curt tone. She even added on a little nod.

"I see you finally started to take care of that beautiful hair of yours." He snickered before maneuvering around her to return to his seat, which commonly would be near Draco, leaving Hermione glowering at the back of his head.

Before reaching the comfort of his seat, Blaise was greeted by Theodore Nott's loud voice. "What the hell took you so damn long!" he asked. "Was it because you're walking like a fucking ninny?"

Blaise reached into his pocket and threw the packets of food and candy at Theodore's face; the ones he had been asked to get as a favor. "A ninny? You're lucky I consider you a friend to some degree, Nott."

Theodore let out a roar of laughter. "Hell, why the fuck not?" he shrugged. "You have proven yourself useful to me at times. Especially since the trolley stopped coming around to this part of the damn train."

"And whose fault was that?" Pansy mockingly asked. She sat next to Draco, nearest to the window. She was reading a book and paid little to no attention to the two. Draco was watching god knows what on the table, not paying mind to those around him. It didn't bother many people. Some just thought he was out of it.

"I wouldn't have had to curse the old hag if she wasn't being such an annoying bitch," Theodore stated, trying to justify his actions last year. "Anyways what took you so—what's with that bruise on your head?" The question was slightly intriguing enough to cause Draco and Pansy to finally pay some attention to the two standing in the isle making a ruckus.

"Bruise?" Blaise touched his forehead and noticed it did hurt to some degree. "Oh, well I got physically hit, but I didn't think it'd cause a bruise at this rate."

"What? Who the hell dare hit you?" Theordore asked.

"It…Well, it was a door," Blaise said, nonchalantly. "But it wasn't Granger's fault. She didn't seem to know I was standing right behind it."

But, like normal, the filters of his friends' ears had drained everything, but the word _Granger_. Theodore was the first to respond. "Granger? The _mudblood_? Please tell us that you did something."

Draco watched Blaise with a careful eye. "I did. I told her how lovely she looked." Draco's eyebrows slightly arched; amused…surprised…or whatever it was. "I also complimented her hair, but that was about as far as our conversation went."

Theodore smacked himself in the face and dragged his hand across it. "Oh fucking god, Blaise. Tell you what I would've done," he said, pressing a finger to Blaise's chest. "I would've told that bitch to get on her pretty little knees and apologize. Right, Draco?"

Then the process began. Draco flashed that perfect, infamous smirk, quirked his eyes brows and let out a chuckle. "Absolutely. Mudbloods haven't got the right to anything. Besides, she caused that bruise on your head, Blaise. Least you could've done was shove her around for the hell of it."

"Aw, now where was that lovely prince charming Granger came to know last year?" Blaise said, sporting a large smile with a glimmer in his eyes.

Theodore burst out laughing once again. "Don't be a fool and bring that up again, Blaise. Everyone already knows."

"Right," Pansy said, jumping it with her own smug smirk. "Only a blind and witless idiot would believe that Prince Charming Draco actually existed."

Draco leaned back in his seat and said his final words before falling into a short nap. "And that idiot was Mudblood-Granger."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Welcome to my new story domain as The Bet comes to an end. Originally I had planned The Bet to be a rated M, but middle-schooler me wouldn't agree. So here I am with a shot. I have yet to figure out what kind of character Blaise will be. I'll come around it. As for Theodore...you get the hint. Anyways, enjoy!

**Comment, review, favorite, follow. You know the drill. Depending on the feedback I'll continue the story. **


	2. The Blank Canvas Soul

**The Reason I Became a Witch 2**

_More and more, Malfoy frequently "stumbled" upon Hermione and her tree more than she would've liked. She couldn't understand why he even bothered or what his motives were. It didn't exactly matter much seeing how she didn't pay attention to him for most of the time. He would come and take a seat on a rock that he had made his designated seating area. He'd often play with some stupid rock, tossing it up and down. He never spoke much, which was to her surprise._

_ "Why do you come here, mudblood?" he tried to inquire one day. "It's so fucking isolated here. Nothing, but dirt and trees."_

_ "I don't have a problem with it," Hermione replied, keeping her eyes on the book in her hands. "I'm not one to force your pleasant company on myself, Malfoy. You can leave if this barren wasteland's boring you._

_ "Force _me _on _you_?" said Malfoy incredulously. "My, my, Mudblood. I wasn't aware your head functioned in that sort of scandalous way."_

_ "I was talking about your company, you stupid oaf!" Hermione cried, giving him a glare. She picked up a small stone and threw at him. Unlike his attempt to stone her not too long ago, she didn't fall short and managed to hit the bridge of his nose._

_ Malfoy swore a bitter swear. It didn't hurt much, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt at all. "You've got nerve, Granger." He pushed himself on his feet. "But that was one bloody mistake." He began to make his way towards her._

_ Hermione looked into his eyes and didn't see any signs of a threat. She looked back to her book. "That wouldn't have had to happen if you just didn't come here very often." Before she knew it, his hands took away her book and dropped it at his feet. She saw his hands coming down for her. She had no time to reach for her wand. His hand had already collected both of hers and pinned them to the tree._

_ "What are you going to do?" she asked, determined not to show fear. _

_ "What do you think, Granger?" He turned to her and smirked. Before she could respond or try to convince him to stop, his other hand came down and Hermione shut her eyes. _Oh, god, I shouldn't have left my guard down!_ She frantically thought. Then she felt a sensation on her side. A tingling sensation. The bastard was tickling her!_

_ It couldn't be helped. It was human nature. Hermione burst out laughing and started wriggling about to free herself from his grasp, but couldn't. "S-stop!" she pleaded. She was still laughing so Malfoy just grinned and ignored the plea. Malfoy moved so his body straddled hers. "S-stop it! Right n-now!" Hermione didn't like the tickling. She didn't appreciate the straddling. She hated the fact that it was Malfoy doing those things. Left with nothing but her head, she started head banging Malfoy's chest…or at least she tried._

_ Malfoy broke down laughing. He released her from her bonds and was then using one of his hands to cover his face from hers. Despite their position, Hermione couldn't help, but feel slightly irritated. "What? What's so damn funny?"_

_ Initially, he didn't get around to answering her. He was still in the midst of laughing and by the time he had finally come back down to earth, his eyes were still glistening with laughter. "Granger, you might be a filthy muggleborn to me…but by god, I didn't think you'd do that. Nor could I have ever imagined that you'd laugh like that!"_

_ "Laugh like what exactly!" Hermione asked._

_ "A muggle angel," he replied before snickering his way off of her._

Draco's eyes fluttered open. He fixed his posture before rendering where he was. He was on the bloody train and Pansy was leaning on his shoulder, sleeping. He saw Millicent Bagnold standing in the isle looking at him.

"You're wanted in the Heads' compartment, Draco," she informed him.

Draco nodded at her then turned his head towards Pansy. He used the palm of his hand to push her head away forcibly off of him, yet was careful not to be rough. Pansy's eyes blinked and looked at him. She asked in a sleepy voice if anything was wrong. He only shook his head before rising from the seat and leaving.

He made his way to the compartment and on the way there he recalled the dream he had before being woken up by presumably Millicent. He wouldn't have cared to recall if that dream wasn't a replay of a distant memory. _Fuck_, Draco thought. He saw his reflection faintly on one of windows. He looked tired and restless. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, but when he realized it, he stopped.

He kept walking until he got to his destination. Grabbing hold of the handle, he slid the door open. Inside, Draco didn't know what to make of it. He was surprised, but not entirely.

Hermione turned her head to see who had come in. When she saw who it was, she automatically refined her sitting posture and put on her professional face. "Malfoy."

"Mudblood."

Hermione's lips thinned. He hasn't changed at all. By look, perhaps, but that nasty personality stayed. "I see you haven't changed."

"Purebloods don't change much after all, much like our blood line." He eyed her. "But a muggleborn like you probably wouldn't know that."

Hermione held her tongue back from lashing the death out of him. In the end she made no response, leaving the conversation to die, doing nothing to relieve the tension. Draco finally stepped in the compartment and took the seat across from hers. Other than that, no one else said or dared to make a movement.

"So what's the bloody reason on why we've been called here?" Draco said, finally speaking up. The question was obviously meant for her, but his eyes drifted to the scene out the window. It was gloomy. Fit the mood.

"What do you think, Malfoy?"

_Ah_, Draco thought, _now why did that question seem familiar? _"Bloody hell, _mudblood_, I asked the question. Wouldn't a smart ass like you know the answer? You do know that you really _are_ only good for answers…And maybe even sex depending on what Weasley says. Other than that, you're pathetically useless."

Hermione gritted her teeth, clenched her face, and threw daggers at him with her eyes. She had made up her mind. She wasn't going to be professional to this piece of shit anymore. He was an ass. A _bastard_. _They deserve nothing less than dirt_, Hermione angrily thought. She opened her mouth to give him a piece of her thoughts on him, but was interrupted when the door slid open and Professor McGonagall let herself in.

"Good afternoon Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger," she said, greeting them. She held a satin cloth in her hands that was neatly folded. Hermione regarded how it looked somewhat heavy for a supposed light fabric. "Now, you were not informed during this summer of this," she unfolded the cloth which revealed two badges, "you both have been chosen as the Head Students of your year. Now as Head Students, you do have power over prefects and the privilege of scheduling patrols whether that'd be on the train or in Hogwarts, though this year will be slightly different." She handed each one of them a badge. "Professionalism is to be expected as much as civility. Now if you both will follow me, I will lead you to the prefect's compartment."

McGonagall turned to lead the way. Hermione was following right behind her when Draco suddenly said, "Wait a minute, Granger." She stopped. He took this time to step out of the compartment before her. "You should know by now… _Purebloods before dirty blood_," he whispered for her ears and her ears only. He wasn't smiling. He wasn't smirking. His expression told her he wasn't teasing and his eyes showed no sign of playfulness. She was tired of it.

After meeting with the prefects and figuring out patrol schedules, Draco and Hermione were dismissed back to their usual grounds, which they happily obliged, and neither spared another glance at each other when they went their separate ways.

Hermione sat with her elbow on the table supporting her lowly head up. She kept replaying Malfoy's hideous comments and his face. It angered her for some reason. Maybe because, unlike the past years, he had said so with such empty eyes meaning he had taken no pleasure in watching her reaction. But then again, what was really expected of Malfoy?

She snapped out of her thoughts when Dumbledore's booming voice emanated throughout the hall indicating the yearly ritual of house sorting. After all the first years were sorted and the opening feast was coming to an end, Dumbledore spoke again and though his words were honest and true, they stopped the joyous spirits going around and replaced them with solemnity.

"As you all might have already know, dark times are upon us. The Dark Lord is at a rise…He has already devoured the control over the Ministry of Magic and I regret to say that I cannot guarantee that Hogwarts is the safe haven it has once been." No one spoke as Dumbledore scanned the hall with sad, regretful, and apologetic eyes. "But it is always darkest before the dawn, they always say. And inside all of you is a chance and a hope. The enemy is upon us, but you all have the power to change the course of which history is to be made…" Standing at his podium for a few more minute in solemn silence, Dumbledore gave a small nod before stepping down.

Professor McGonagall took his place. "Visits to Hogsmeade will still occur, but it will not be as frequent as previous years…" This caused no response, but everyone knew no one liked the only highlight of their school life to be taken away. "Curfew is strictly at nine o'clock. Prefects and Heads will participate in night patrols, but it's been discussed that night patrols done by students will be limited also. The Aurors will take care of the rest. Now…get to your houses. Danger lurks within our walls so it's fit to stay together at all times."

The students began filing out in an orderly fashion. Hermione followed behind a line, standing near Ron and Harry, whose moods were on the downside and glum. She sighed. She didn't doubt that everyone had weight on their shoulders with Dark Lord at a rise once again and what not.

As she was walking out the hall, someone gently pulled her out of line the moment she walked past the double doors. She saw that it was only Filch. But it didn't matter; she shook his grip away, causing him to scowl at her. "A rude little miss you are," he sneered, nearing her face. He then slowly back away. Hermione's attention went to the figure beside him; Draco. She didn't spend too much of her attention on him, though, because Filch began to speak again. "Dumbledore has called for you. Said to meet him in the Headmaster's office." He turned his back to her while his attention went to Draco. "And _you_," he said, pointing a finger at Draco.

"You dare point that at _me_, _squib_?" Draco nodded his head, indicating to the finger.

"Ah—" If it was anybody, but Malfoy, Filch wouldn't have back down so cowardly, but it was and so he did. "I a-apologize, Mr. Malfoy. But Dumbledore has ordered me to show you the way to your dorm."

Hermione looked away disgusted. "I would have preferred someone more…refined to accompany me," Draco started. Then he shrugged. "But I suppose you shall do. You will lead, but keep your perimeter."

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy."

She couldn't stand it anymore. Hermione turned on her heels and headed for the office. Whatever Dumbledore had to say, it'd be better than watching Filch grovel at the feet of a dirty bastard like Malfoy.

"Ah, Ms. Granger," a familiar voice said, greeting her. "Come in. Lemon drops?" He indicated to a bowl on his desk with the single purpose of holding lemon drops.

"No thank you, Professor," Hermione politely rejected.

"So how are you? How do you feel about being Head Girl?"

She thought about it for a while and then shrugged. "It's not surprising that I _am_, but—"

"You're wondering about Mr. Malfoy…" Dumbledore said, nodding.

"Yeah…"

Dumbledore sighed and put his hands together. "Ms. Granger, I am sure you are aware of Draco's status, correct?" When he sensed that she thought he was talking about his blood purity, he shook his head. "I'm afraid you've misunderstood. I was referring to his connection to the Dark Lord."

Hermione's eyes widened, but she understood and nodded. "Yes. I know he's a Death Eater."

"I'd thought so." Dumbledore stood from his chair and put both his hands behind his back. "I've retained some information about Draco…and needless to say I need to have him be…I guess you could say 'looked after'. I wanted to isolate him from his usual gang of friends, but that'd come up as suspicious. So I thought the practical way was to have him be the Head Boy. Therefore he is detached, yet still not fully alone."

Hermione bitterly scoffed. "Professor, I don't think that leaving Malfoy to his own insanity would be a brilliant idea."

"Yes and that is why you are here. You will look after Draco, Ms. Granger," Dumbledore said. "But not in the way as a mother would look after a child. Just make sure he doesn't come too close to the edge. Make sure he's eating and sleeping. In other words, Hermione, I'm asking you to try and be a friend to him during this time."

"But Professor, like you said, he's a _Death Eater_!" Hermione stated.

"Ms. Granger, please understand that Mr. Malfoy is like a blank canvas. He can easily be tainted with different forces and right now a certain brush holder is trying to paint him black. Mr. Malfoy is as much of a victim as he is a Death Eater." Dumbledore looked in her eyes. "Do you understand? Differences and opinions aside, he needs a helping hand every once in a while. What I hope is for Draco to see the light and choose the right path. And what I fear is for him to have to face this alone."

Hermione looked at the ground. She understood what he was telling her. But a friend? To _Malfoy_? Does heaven and Hell exist on the same plane? Hermione didn't think so, but with all the talk, Dumbledore was starting to make Draco out to be a sad, helpless loner. He always has been in a way, but in general, no.

There was also a pain in even trying. She didn't trust him. Last time she did, it humiliated her to oblivion. "I'll keep an eye out for him, Professor, but I refuse to be a friend to him."

Dumbledore sighed. "Well maybe in time you will have changed your mind…" Before Hermione could retort, he cut her off. "Well pip, pip! You can go back to your dorm—Oh! Yes. I almost forgot." He walked over to one of the paintings he kept on the wall. "Do you mind fetching me Mr. Filch, please?" The painting smiled and went on its way to try and find the poor man.

It didn't take long. Filch came limping his way in. Hermione presumed he had stubbed the foot while on the way here, thinking it was some sort of emergency. That or he was flattered to be called by Dumbledore. He was then instructed to take Hermione to her dorm—the Head Boy and Girl's dorm.

They arrived to a large portrait painting of what looked like a Victorian woman sitting under a tree. Hermione couldn't help but notice her beauty. Filch grumbled the password to her before leaving. If Hermione wasn't half-listening to him, she would've missed it.

When she walked in, she spotted Draco leaning back on the couch, staring at the fireplace. He seemed to sense she was there and looked up to prove his hunch. They locked eyes for many moments without speaking before he broke off to stare back at the fire.

"Do you hate me, mudblood?" he asked in a low, scruffy voice.

It was followed by silence as it took moments for Hermione to answer.

"Very much, Malfoy."

Pause.

"Good," he said more loudly. He pushed himself off the couch and headed for one of the bedrooms. "Be sure that it's kept that way." Then he disappeared into the room.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I have found the sweetest Dramione story ever. It challenges by love and loyalty for "The Dragon's Bride". It's called_ "Utterly Despicable"_

Anyways, on to business. Hope you like this chapter.

**READ, REVIEW, FAV :) Please **


	3. Hallow Holidays

**The Reason I Became a Witch **

_"Tell me, mudblood, are you going home for the break?" Malfoy asked as he followed Hermione down the elongated wooden bridge. _

_ "Why ask such a personal question, Malfoy?" Hermione replied, looking back. "Were you having a change of heart just now and actually thinking about inviting me over at Malfoy Manor?"_

_ Draco bitterly laughed. "If you'd like to be ripped apart by the Dark Lord himself, then be my honored guest."_

_ Hermione grimaced. "If you really must know, I'm going to stay at a friend's place."_

_ "You mean _boyfriend_, correct?" _

_ Hermione didn't reply and just kept walking to wherever she was going in the first place._

_ "Planning on sealing the deal, are you, mudblood?" Draco asked behind her. He received no answer. "Have you even kissed the bloke?" No response. "Good—fucking—god. You've never kissed anybody!"_

_ Hermione whipped around, but to her surprised, Malfoy had seemed to have closed the distance between them and was now towering over her. She lost her voice for only a few seconds. "W-We are taking things slow, Malfoy. In fact, we—Oh bloody hell! Why am I bothering to tell you of all people?" She was going to turn around, but was halted when he grabbed hold of her shoulders, keeping her in place._

_ "Want me to help you with that?" he asked. He used a hand to lift her chin up to him. "You know I could," he said. His eyes wandered to her lips. "Blood statuses aside on this one, if you'd like." His thumbs brushed her bottom lip._

_ "Nice joke," Hermione said, giving him a scowl. She tried to pull away, but his iron grip was still on her._

_ "You know what?" He laughed. "Surprisingly, I don't think this isn't a joke." He started closing in._

_ "What are you doing?" Hermione was backing the only thing she could; her head. _

_ "This." He lipped her chin up a little higher and bent his head a little bit lower, then he kissed her. Unlike the typical kisses he shared with other girls, he wasn't being forceful or too demanding. It didn't even last as long, but that didn't stop him from slowly pulling away._

_ They stared at each other in silence. Then Malfoy pushed her back. "Go and deliver that damn package to that giant Hagrid already," he hissed, sounding unexpectedly irritated. Then he turned around and started walking back to the castle. _

"Pass the bread, 'Mione," Ron said with his cheeks puffed. Then he added, "Please."

Hermione obliged, passing the basket of bread towards him. She wasn't exactly hungry, but she still ate a light breakfast. The same couldn't be said about Harry. "Harry, why aren't you eating?"

Harry looked like he just snapped back to the present. "Ah, I'm not hungry."

"Well neither am I, but still. At least eat something."

"I-I can't." He rubbed his temple. "I'm sorry." Then he got out of his seat and left the hall.

"He didn't sleep all that well last night," Ron said, watching Harry disappear from the hall. Then he turned to Hermione. "I think all this Dark Lord business is getting to him. I don't blame him. I'd go fucking nuts too if some psycho was out after me."

Hermione could only nod in agreement. She stared at her plate, now with only a few pieces of crumb stranded alone, and sighed. She pushed it away and rose. "I'm heading to the library. I'll see you later in class."

"Library? What for?" Ron asked, pointing the loaf of bread in his hand at her. "This year's only begun. Hell, it hasn't even _started_."

She gave a small smile. "There's nothing wrong with trying to get ahead of the game."

Ron scoffed. "To you, maybe. I'm fine being with the rest of the ton, thank you." He promptly took a large bite of the bread, gave a childish grin, and turned back to Finnigan.

Hermione's gaze was on Ron's turned back for moments lost before leaving.

_"Granger in the library. How surprising."_

_ Hermione turned her head to the side to see who she expected to see, judging from the killer sarcasm. She sighed, closed the book in the hands and placed it back in a spot in the shelf. "What business do you have here, Malfoy?"_

_ Malfoy moved to meet Hermione between the two overwhelmingly large rows. "Nothing particularly interesting. I heard from the walls that you did not in fact leave for the holidays." He paused. "Doesn't this implicate that you've lied to me, mudblood?"_

_ A book with a leather covering caught Hermione's eye so she took it out of its place. "I didn't lie to you, Malfoy—at least not at the time. Plans do change," she said, glancing at him._

_ "Did that damn idiot dump you?" he asked, menacingly laughing._

_ With lips thinned, she shook her head. "It was a mutual agreement." _

_ "The fuck it was," he said smirking._

_ "Yes! It was!" Hermione declared. She began flipping through the pages of the book hoping to find information about a potion Slughorn had accidentally let slip and to her wonder, she'd never heard of it nor would she have ever been bound to if not for him. _

_ There was a quiet, pacific moment between them for a while, but it was short lived. _

_ "Don't you have a life outside these bloody fucking books, Granger?" he asked with a sour face as he looked around him._

_ "I like it here."_

_ "Just like your bloody tree…" he mumbled. "You are destined to be a shrew."_

_ Hermione raised her head and scowled. She decided to turn the table on him. "Why haven't _you _gone home? You've always gone back for the holidays."_

_ Malfoy grinned. "This may come as a shocker, mudblood, but home's not a good place right now."_

_ The way he said it made Hermione feel slightly bad about suggesting home. She tried to recover. "Well—why didn't you just go stay at a friend's—"_

_ "Crabbe and Goyle have personal affairs to attend to. Blaise has his mother so I'd feel like a third wheel. Theodore went to Switzerland with his whole damn family. Pansy's automatically out of the equation and so are any other females for that matter. In the end, all I've got as a bearable option is this fucking school…" Malfoy let out a hallow laugh. _

_ Hermione gave him a sad look before turning her head away from him. "Sorry…I guess I shouldn't have said anything."_

_ He slowly walked nearer to her and scoffed. "You don't need to give me a damn apology, Granger. It's not like you could've controlled the course of everything." It was then that in all their years, Hermione actually felt sadness in her heart for the man who stood beside her without one._

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><p><em><strong>AN: **  
><em>This is a bit short, but bear please :D I was having writer's block or what i call "Brain Drain."

**Kyra649:** No :) This story isn't associated with "The Bet". But I guess you could think this is a version in some alternate universe where everything that happened in The Bet didn't turn out so sweet? :)

~This is my december. This is my time of the year. This is me pretending. This is all I need~ :)


	4. Contrasting Nights

**The Reason I Became a Wtich**

Time, in a way, moved in a fast, singly motion, yet in a warp sense, it moved in lagging features. Hermione noticed Draco in and out of class, keeping a distant eye on him as she had promised Dumbledore. To be honest with herself, she hadn't been taking the assigned job so seriously or as seriously as a third person would've liked, but Hermione paid no mind. Though she seemed like she could give a shit about the well-being of the ghost himself, she silently admitted to herself that she had somewhat of a heart.

Hermione knew that the happenings of tonight were and is inevitable. Despite the tight restrictions and limitations of privileges and duties that year, night patrol had come. Course, the last few she had accompanied two prefects, both on different nights, and showed them the ropes in patrolling. Draco had done the same—or he supposedly did so, but in either case, Hermione couldn't fathom how well the unlucky few had fared.

Waiting in their common room seemed to stretch on to forever and Hermione was growing ever so weary. She dreaded the moment when Draco would finally step out and have his presence in the room, but like the night, it was inevitable.

Draco finally appeared out of his room with his wand typically in the placement of his hand. Without a thought, he did a miniature flick as he walked away from his room, shutting the door without using physical force. "I would've thought you'd left already," he yawned, momentarily closing his careless piercing blue eyes.

Hermione found her blood rushing. "So is that why you've kept me waiting? You were waiting for me to leave, were you?"

Draco fixed the cuffs of his shirt and then the collar before sliding with casual ease into his robes. "Mind I remind you that I never said anything about having to wait that pretty little ass of yours for me?" Draco scoffed after seeing the look on Hermione's face before rolling his eyes. "Never mind, that was beside the point. Point being is that _you_ are early, Granger."

Hermione scowled at him. "I was early ten minutes ago."

"I don't care for how Muggles count time."

"You don't really care for anything at all," Hermione said before turning away from Draco and start to head out the door.

He followed shortly behind. Once out the door, they casted the spell that enabled their wands to cast light. Hermione was honest to herself. It was disturbingly silent; _too_ silent to even shrug off.

There was absolutely no point in making small talk. There was nothing to talk about. Talk about class? Talk about the past? No, it was out of the question. Solution is to not speak a word.

_Malfoy found the night patrol utterly boring, but for tonight he'd have some fun. The normal kid he was paired up with bailed on him or as he said –"Have detention I can't skip"—which was all fine to Malfoy because for some unknown reason, he was glad to have Granger as the kid's replacement. Malfoy whistled a slow tune as he walked behind Hermione, dragging his wand on the stone walls as he swayed along. _

_ "You're going to break that thing," Hermione warned in a tone. "There's not a shop like Olivanders around here."_

_ Malfoy laughed. "You think I need to be in walking distance to Olivanders to receive a new wand?" He grinned. "Mudblood, there's this thing called money and magic. Two of which you haven't been acquainted with all your life."_

_ Hermione scowled at him, which was magnified by the lack of light other than the one emanating from her wand. "Malfoy, you shut up! I'm sick and tired of you petty little insults!"_

_ "Petty? If they're so petty then why the fuck are you getting so worked up, mudblood?" He was still grinning, looking as smug as ever, and that bother the hell out of Hermione. As for why, she didn't know._

_ "It's because they're coming from you," she answered. _

_ "Coming from me…" he said, slowly. Then he pointed to his lips. "…but originating from here."_

_ "Ugh, you mean those disgusting fish lips?" Hermione turned her back around and started walking once again. "It fits, though. You say the most…informal, innapropriate things a person could ever say."_

_ "But you love it," he replied, walking at his full potential and fell into step with her. "You love my lips and the things I say. Why else would you get so damn crazy over all this?" _

_ Hermione gave a dry laugh. "You make it sound as if I like you."_

_ "Yeah," he said, shrugging. "You—along with the rest of my sexy-as-hell harem girls, of course."_

_ "Oh how blessed I must feel!" Hermione cried. "_If_ I actually did liked you. So that hypothetical statement of yours, Malfoy, it was just that. Hypothetical." _

_ "Doesn't have to be," he said intentionally bumping his shoulder with hers. _

_ She patted her shoulder as if to rid herself of a disease. "Don't—do that again," she warned. "Or I'll blow your bloody face off."_

_ "I'd rather have you blow something else, mudblood," he whispered in her ear. Hermione fought the urged to turn her head towards him; the only reason being was because of the color of her face. Blood red. Before she could retort, he turned his face back up front. "But, eh, what would an inexperienced woman like you know."_

_ "You're right, Malfoy. I have no god damn idea what the hell you're going on about," she said through gritted teeth._

_ "Well in that case, want me to help you with that?" he asked, grinning. "We could have our own little way of motivating you ,too. You like points, don't you, Granger? Well we go start off with 10 points for your lovely Gryffindor self. 5 extra for having a nice ass to begin with. We could work with that. In fact, we could physically work out a lot—"_

_ Then and finally, Malfoy's ongoing harassment ended when Hermione elbowed his gut, causing him to bend forward and giving Hermione the opportunity of hitting the bottom of his chin with her palm, sending his upper body backwards. _

_ "Like I said, utterly disgusting!" she cried before lightly jogging away from Malfoy while he stayed in the same spot he was attacked in. Grimacing at the mediocre, but still hurtful attacks, Malfoy glared at the little mudblood as she made her way away from him._

_ "God-fucking mudblood," he growled with his head down. They he lifted his head revealing a smirk. "I'm going to fucking get you."_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Authors Note: <strong>  
><em>Hi hi! Here's another update. It falls short from my goal by 200 words and im sorry! But I hope you like it anyways? Please? Lol.

**COMMENT, REVIEW, FAVORITE, ALERT MEH!** I Love you! BTW The Bet isn't finished yet.


	5. The Calling

**The Reason I Became a Witch**

"Dark Times are upon us," Draco suddenly spoke, shattering the silence that went on forever. Hermione could tell he was recalling Dumbledore's speech. He scoffed, turning his head to the side. "Hmph. Then why the hell does this stupid school still let students like us patrol the bloody castle. Why not those Aurors they've hired?"

"As if we're incapable of doing this simple task ourselves," muttered Hermione.

Draco glared slightly at her. "It's not in the matter of capability, Granger. You should know."

Hermione gave a small shrug. She knew he had a point, but damn her to hell if she was going to admit that to this son of a—

"Who's there?" Draco yelled down the hall they were in, snapping Hermione from her thoughts. There was a figure not too far away from them, but still at a distance where their luminous light couldn't reach. When the figure made no response, but only walked more towards them, Draco scowled, shifted his wand, and directed it at the shadow figure.

"Your fuse runs short, don't you think, Draco?" said a mocking voice. Snape's.

Draco only grunted in reply. He looked away for a split second before looking back at Snape. The look on Snape's face masked urgency beneath…and Draco saw it. He turned back to Hermione, who stood there watching the two with and indescribable face.

In the silence that followed, the three individuals heard footsteps coming closer at a fast pace. Draco drew up his wand again in the direction of the steps, but Snape slapped his hand down. "Don't be so quick, you idiot." Before long, Ayden Reid, a fifth year prefect, appeared before the three. "I came in search for you two to take Draco away. I'm pulling him from tonight's patrol. Mr. Reid will replace you, Draco."

Draco hesitated. He didn't like Reid, much less having him alone in the barren halls of Hogwarts with Granger—but what did he care about the bitch? Without much questions asked, Draco gave a short, quick sigh. "Whatever," he said carelessly. He moved to Snape's side and Reid moved to Hermione's. Draco made it perfectly obvious to shoulder bump Ayden as they walked past each other.

"Damn it, Malfoy!" Avery cursed under his breath. He received a glare from Snape.

"Language, Mr. Reid," Snape sternly said.

"Eh..sorry," Avery grumbled.

"Let's go, Draco," Snape said, then turning the way he came from, not even looking back to see if Draco had fallowed. His long robes flew by his side as he walked, meaning he walked fairly fast for a man his age. Draco turned to follow, but stopped and looked back at the two people he was leaving behind before turning back and following Snape.

It was a while after they had left that Hermione and Avery actually started to talk. "Um, so…how far have you guys patrolled?" Avery asked, sounding nervous. It was obvious that he was trying to ease the awkward tension.

Hermione turned to him and smiled. "Not far, so you're okay." Then out of curiosity she asked, "What business did Snape have with Malfoy, do you know?"

Avery scrunched his eyebrows and ruffled his auburn hair. "Ah, sorry, Hermione. I don't know, really. Snape just burst into my quarters and practically dragged me out of bed. It wasn't pleasant. I can tell you that. But since it involves Malfoy, I'm willing to bet it's not going to be anything good."

Hermione's lips thinned as she nodded slightly. "Yeah…"

* * *

><p>"So what did you need me for?" Draco asked, minutes after they had left. "Does it have anything to do with the Dark Lord? Cause if it does—"<p>

"Do not—" Snape said, snapping at Draco. "—speak again of this business. Though these walls seem barren and empty, it has ears Draco. You will learn to be more discreet."

After Snape turned his back towards Draco again, Draco was left to scowl at his back instead. "Who the fuck cares about being discreet and non-discreet! Everyone already thinks that I'm connected with him! Which you and I both know is completely true—"

"Then have them think what they wish to think!" Snape said loudly. "You do not need to participate and give proof of your connection." Draco made no reply and the two walked again in silence. After a time, Snape spoke again. "Have you mastered Occlumency?"

Draco grunted. "I've mastered it enough. Lestrange said my training was done."

"Keep in mind," Snape said, "Bellatrix Lestrange's loyalty lies with the Dark Lord and the Dark Lord only. She's most likely made it so you were efficient in the skill, but not fully skilled at it."

"Where are you going with this?" Draco pried.

"I am saying that you should practice more on Occlumency and to not take Bellatrix's word for it," Snape clarified. "And to sum it all up, I don't think your training is completely done. It feels as though something is holding you back."

"Holding me back!" Draco cried. "I let go of everything already. I've already cut the strings, the connections. What else is there for me to detach from myself!" He asked, frustrated.

"That girl." Snape didn't need to clarify for Draco to understand.

"I already have—"

"Then you have failed," Snape hissed, pointing a finger at Draco. "You have not let go fully. I can see it in your eyes." Draco gritted his teeth. Damn him! "Have you any idea what he will do if he finds out about your connection with her? Bless his black heart is he lets her live after torturing her for his own purposes!"

Draco slapped Snape's hand away from him. "Don't you think I know that! I've thought about! I've fucking thought about it a billion times, damn it!" Draco's heart rate sped, his breathing quickened, and his blood pressure rose. "I thought I already cut her off."

"You might have thought. You might have even cut her off partially," Snape said, looking at Draco with eyes that revealed unsaid things. "But you need to try again and cut her from you fully."

Draco's jaw clenched and he whipped his head sideways. "Then what am I supposed to do if I can't do it? Cut out my own heart?"

"You might as well. The Dark Lord sees human hearts and love as symbols of inferiority. The heart symbolizes mortality and love symbolizes cowardice. It holds no place of importance in his eyes."

Silence followed. They resumed walking to a place Draco didn't know and dared not to ask. Though he wasn't willing to ask where they walked to, he did ask his previous question once again. "What am I needed for?"

"The Dark Lord has called for you…" Snape said, almost quietly.

* * *

><p>Hermione and Reid came to a stop in front of Hermione's shared dorm with Draco. Without even going in, she felt as empty as she knew the rooms within were. She tucked her wand back in her robes and turned to the portrait, who's being was sleeping soundly. Before she could awaken the Victorian woman up, she felt Reid put a hand on her shoulder, then quickly drew back.<p>

"Yes, Ayden?" she asked, giving him a comforting smile.

"Ah...I was...I was just making sure that you'd be alright," he replied nervously. He shoved his hands in the two back pockets of his pants.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Hermione said, giving his a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks for worrying."

Ayden broke out a tiny smile before nodding his head in content. "Alright, then. Night, Granger. I'll see you in class." Then he turned the way they came and left. As for Hermione, she turned and woke up the beautiful Victorian woman, though she felt guilty for interrupting the woman's slumber.

Going into the common room that she shared with Draco…It felt different. She never saw Draco much in the common room besides that one day when he was waiting up for her to ask her that question. _Do you hate me, Mudblood?_ Hermione clenched her fist. She detested him. But that word was different from raw hate. She had spent that entire summer cultivating her hate for that beast. She was sure that if she ever saw that face of his, she'd be able to spit on it without feeling wrong. _She thought…she was sure…she knew…_But no. Seeing his face shattered those cultivated feelings she harbored those months of summer. The new face didn't help it anyhow; still handsome and cold, yet…a sense of deep and utter sadness.

Hermione thinned her lips and mentally shook her of the thought. _His face?_ Hermione grunted. It was pity she felt for him. Nothing more and nothing less for that poor shell of a human…_Which is exactly what he has been all this time_, Hermione thought.

"God damn it!" Hermione curse and she fell onto the elongated sofa, burying her face in her hands. "Why the hell do I feel so sad…?" _His face…his essense…_ "He hasn't changed at all…and yet he's changed so much…"

* * *

><p><em>*"Granger, Granger. How did I know you'd be in here?" Malfoy teasingly said, smirking as he leaned on a bookshelf. "What is it that you're reading there?"<em>

_ "None of your business, Malfoy!" Hermione cried. "And get away!"_

_ "Oh, what's with the mood, Granger?" Malfoy said, quirking one of his eyebrows. "On those womanly periods, I assume?"_

_ "No," Hermione curtly said._

_ Draco grunted and lost his smirk. He folded his arms and tilted his head. "You want to explain why you're being quite a bitch?"_

_ "No."_

_ "You should look up when you're speaking with someone, mudblood. It's considered rude not to."_

_ Hermione scoffed. "When have you ever cared for manners?"_

_ She received no reply back. Instead Malfoy used a hand to forcibly, yet gently, force her head up to look up at him. "I care when it concerns you."_

_ Hermione took in a sharp breath and tried mediocrely to pull back, but without much doing on Malfoy's part, he kept her in place; their eyes locked. Then it happened for the slightest second; Malfoy's lips came down, descended on hers, then as quick as they came, they left. _

_ This time, Hermione dropped the books she carried she pushed his away. Malfoy didn't take offense, but instead broke out in small laughter. "Why is it that you're always pushing me away?"_

_ "And why is it that you're always following me?" Hermione demanded. She turn used her forearm to wipe her mouth causing Malfoy to frown. _

_ "I prefer the term chase," he started, "and don't do that; wipe me off your lips, I mean."_

_ "As if I even wanted you to do that!" Hermione growled, but not angrily. "Damn it…Will you just stay away from me, Malfoy? Honestly, I don't want to be connected to you in any way. Just leave me alone."_

_ "Why? Cause you're worried you'll fall in love with me?"_

_ "Please. Love? You? This isn't some fine weaved romance conjured up by an author, Malfoy, so get your head out of the clouds."_

_ "You're right, it isn't," Malfoy smirked. "It's even better than some predictable romance garbage."_

_ Hermione groaned and shook her head. She kneeled down to pick up the books she dropped. Malfoy, feeling awkward then, dropped down to his knees also and picked up one of the books. "Greek Mythology? What—"_

_ "I've been helping out with Muggle Studies," Hermione replied as she snatched the book from his hand._

_ "Ah, the muggle class…" Draco drawled. "Hm…Do you find this Greek mythology subject interesting, mudblood?"_

_ "As a matter of fact, I do."_

_ "Do you want to know what my favorite story is?" Malfoy asked, glancing at her with playful eyes._

_ "No."_

_ "Aw, come on."_

_ "I don't really care, Malfoy—"_

_ "It's not long—"_

_ "I said—"_

_ "But—"_

_ "Fine!" Hermione hissed. "Tell me this favorite story of yours, but be quick! I have business to go to."_

_ "Okay, okay" Malfoy said, waving his hands. " So if I remember correctly, humans were made with four arms, legs, heads, and 2 faces. Well, originally, they were, I mean. But since that god of theirs—Zeus, wasn't it?— thought they'd be too powerful, he split them into two, forcing them to search for the other half for all of time."_

_ Hermione admitted to herself that that specific story was interesting, but forced herself to roll her eyes and rudely nod sharply. "Are you done?"_

_ "I haven't even gotten to the best part yet," Malfoy complained._

_ "But that's the end of that myth!" Hermione cried._

_ "But it's not the end of my story," Malfoy pointed out._

_ Hermione loudly sighed to show her frustration, but forced herself to be patient for a little while longer. "Alright."_

_ "Well, as I was, before you assumed I was finished, both halves are forced to search for the other for all time," Malfoy recapped. "But…to my happy ending, my search…has come to an end." He smirked before lightly flicking Hermione's nose and walking away, waving his hand indicating his goodbye, leaving Hermione's nose slightly pink and her face following the color of red._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I have finally uploaded a new chapter! :D 2000+ words. haha, I hope you enjoy. Seriously, REVIEW! REVIEW! Tell me something! lol. I was so uninspired by lack of responses :P anyways yeah, enjoy. Fav, alerts, REVIEW. Haha. Oh and if you want, follow me on Quizazz Nanrina or /farapjjammaz


	6. Hajime Dont do it

TRIBA-W

It was past midnight when Hermione's eyes cracked open to the sound of items being broken and furniture being tossed about. At first she paid no mind to it, as it could've just been her ears still ringing from a dream, but after the noises kept repeating one after another, she became more concerned. Grabbing her sleeping robe, she quickly slipped it on, grabbing her wand as she was about to walk out her bedroom and into the common area. As she grabbed for the door, she quickly let go as it vibrated from an impact. Gripping tighter onto her wand, she twisted the knob and pulled the door open. But she saw nothing after that. Something was blocking the door frame.

She tried to manually push it. She resisted the thought about using magic to destroy the damned thing. Despite the possibility that whatever on the other side could hurt her, she thought that facing it would be better than being left in that bedroom, hanging as a ticking time bomb bait. She pointed her wand at the door and finally gave in to what she resisted in the first place. "Reducto!" Then the obstacle itself started to crack before immediately destroying itself as it was pushed aside by a greater source. After it was long away and gone, Hermione finally saw what was happening in the commons.

Furniture was destroyed, ripped and thrown all over the place. The decorative vases that had been placed by the window sill was nothing, but shattered glass. The windows themselves showed signs of damage. Hermione couldn't really believe her eyes. Was she just seeing things? No. The person in front of her proved to her that it wasn't a dream.

"Oh. Did I wake you up, princess?" a voice mockingly sneered. Hermione's eyes moved to the origin of the voice; by the fireplace. There, stood draco. His clothes were torn and ripped especially the torso area. On his sides, the fabric had torn almost horizontally. They were big enough to show the flesh wounds beneath. Of course, Hermione did not need to see those wounds to know that he was injured. His white-collared shirt was torn, with obvious signs of blood. Hermione felt sick to her stomach. She covered her mouth in awful shock.

Draco showed a small, but dark smirk. "What? Do I disgust you? Does seeing me like this disgust you!"

Hermione couldn't reply. She couldn't reply even if she wanted to. She lost her voice from the shock.

Draco let out a laugh, but to Hermione's ears, it sounded more like a cackle. "Oh fuck. Is that how it is, now? You find me disgusting. Ha! To be thought of as disgusting by the mudblood herself."

Hermione gathered up her ability to talk and crunched her eyebrows together, feeling a sense of anger rise inside her. "I don't remember saying anything of the sort, Malfoy!" There was a pass of silence between them. "Now, tell me what-"

"You're a liar, princess." Draco said, in a voice not too quite, but enough to be heard over Hermione's voice.

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"You are a liar," he repeated before letting out a pitiful laugh. Then he slowly started to walk to her. "I can see it in your eyes...your body language...and through your words. You think I'm bloody disgusting. Admit it. I'm a bloody death eater, dammit! I'm connected to Voldemort! My family...my bloodline...we thrive on the death of mudbloods and muggles like yourself." Finally he took the final steps before being right in front of her. By that time, he had already practically pinned her to the wall with nowhere else to go. "God, I have the power to kill you with my bare hands even..." Hermione didn't know how to react. Scared? Yes. But she wasn't backing down on the threat and boasts of hallow words.

"So?" She bravely said. "That's all beside the point and you know it. I never said you were disgusting. Not once." And I never will, Hermione thought. Draco didn't need any negative comments about him in this mental state of mind at the moment. But from the look on Draco's face, Hermione knew her answer didn't satisfy what he wanted to hear. It fell far below the bar.

Draco grimaced angrily. "Why couldn't you just have gone along and agreed with me!"

"You wanted me to call you disgusting!" Hermione half shouted.

"Damn-bloody-right!" Draco yelled, turning away from her. "A round of fucking applause! Mudblood, finally caught on."

"Why!" She demanded to know, following him to where ever he stepped."Tell me why, Malfoy!" She lifted an arm to reach out for Draco's hand, but as if by sixth sense, Draco moved his hand away before she could even touch it, then turned to face her.

"Tell me you hate me, mudblood, " he demanded. "Tell me you fucking hate me. Call me disgusting. Tell me that you don't care about what the hell happens to me. Tell me!"

Hermione grew a sense of worry. "Why? Why do you want me to tell you those things?"

Draco grabbed a hold of her arm, which was in reach. "Tell me."

" I hate...I HATE..." Hermione couldn't say the words. If she said them, she'd be lying. If she didn't, she still knew that she didn't. As much as she wanted to, she didn't. Then she finally mumbled words.

"Say it louder," Draco told her.

"I don't hate you, Draco."

Draco felt a pang in his chest. It wasn't pain. It was...relief, but at the same time, it was disappointment and anger. It was, but at the same time, it wasn't what he wanted to hear. He needed her to hate him. As much as it'd hurt him to hurt her, in the end, it'd all be for the best, especially when it came to her safety against the dark lord, because he knew. He knew the connected between them now. Snape was right. Those bloody lessons with Bellatrix weren't sufficient.

The marks on his body proved to be evidence. The dark lord had punished him for 'wasting time on a dirty creature' and Draco knew he was talking about Hermione. The Dark Lord went on to talk during the punishment. He spoke on how bloods mustn't mix nor should purebloods chose to lie with muggles, mudbloods,or even halfbloods. But to Draco, the punishment was nothing compared to The Dark Lord finding out about Hermione, their past relationship, and especially those feelings he thought he safely locked away and tried so hard to forget about.

And so here he was. Trying to make the only girl he's ever opened up to and regrettably hurt, hate him. There was no way around this. His grip on her arm tightened, as if to amputate him from the pain he felt in his heart. Hermione grimaced and tried to pry his hand away.

"No," he said.

"No! Malfoy, just tell me why you're doing this!" She paused, but when he didnt reply, she continued. "You come home in the middle of the bloody night, destroying and throwing furniture, looking like you've been attacked, yet attacking me...Tell me!"

Suddenly he pushed her onto the floor. He worked quick, taking her wand away from her and throwing it aside and using his own magic to bind her hands together.

"D-Draco? What are you doing?" Hermione asked, finally sounding terrified. It was suppose to be music to Draco's ears, but instead, all he heard was the breaking of his own heart.

Draco got on top of Hermione. Hermione probably didn't notice how Draco's shoulder had slumped as if a huge burden had been placed on top of them. She also didn't see his eyes, which were covered now by his disheveled hair. If she could, she would've seen the piercing pain inside them.

Then he finally replied to her terrified question, in a small, soft-spoken voice. "Hate me, my love."

* * *

><p>I probably wont update if comments dont flow enough  I dont know where to start writing again ._.

ADD: This chapter sucks... -_- confusing as hell but people wanted an update.

BTW. FANFIC has the image option now... im kind of ehhh right now. I'd rather have my own picture of what YOUR character and story looks like through your writing alone than with a picture from google images.

**AUTHORS NOTE: Hope this chapter is good enough. You guys have waited enough. (2-3 months?) Yep. REcently got a comment and i was like "yeaahh" thats it. Anyays if this chapter sucks or is confusing. IM SORRY! The reason i did not write was because i didnt know what to write and where to head but i did want to do a messy confrontation so i was just like "Oh ya..ok i will do that then"**

if there are any typos/misspells, sorry. I wrote this all and i wont look over it. cause i know how much you guys want this. Ehh. OH and idk if you know, this sstory was planned to be RATED M


	7. So cold

Draco hovered over her with both hands supporting his weight. Hermione looked up, searched for his eyes, but she couldn't find them. They were covered in his shadow.

"Draco," she said, keeping her voice calm and low. "Please...I'm sorry. Just...Just, please, let me go."

Draco gave a quiet, sullen chuckle, though there was nothing to laugh about. Then when he spoke, he spoke so softly and in broken paces. "I can't... You're...everything..." Then he paused, worrying Hermione.

"Draco?"

"Don't you understand, you stupid mudblood!? That's the fucking problem!" he growled. His shoulders gave slight shudders before Hermione felt a drop of water on her face. Before she could even say a word, Draco jumped to his feet and hoisted Hermione up by the front of her shirt. Hands still bonded, her body was forced to fall in whatever direction Malfoy pleased. He marched into her room and threw her on the bed. Hermione's face hit the cold mattress first before reflexively turning her head back. Using her own will, she sat up.

Draco aimed his wand at her. Knowing Draco had already crossed the line of sanity that night, what he was planning to do with that wand, Hermione didn't know...for once. She shut her eyes, waiting for the blow, but instead, the hands behind her back broke free from each other. The realization hit after a moment, but that fleeting moment disappeared soon after along with Draco and his presence before Hermione could react.

She ran to the open door entrance to follow him without much thought. Just as she reached the empty space where she had blown her door to bits, she stopped as she saw Draco pointing his wand at her again. Her gut told her he wasn't going to do anything drastic. She followed it. She raised a hand as if to reach out to him. "Draco, I'm-"

Then, it hit. Something hit Hermione making her lose immediate consciousness. She fell back, but Draco lessened the fall with an air charm; he was gentle in doing so. He even took the time to place her back in the bed. Of course, he didn't touch her. He didn't dare be tempted. Then he flicked his wand, creating nothingness into something useful. The broken bits and pieces of Hermione's door that she destroyed came back together in backwards fashion, piece by piece before becoming whole again.

He turned her back from her room, leaving magic to do what he couldn't; placing the door back and barricading the room inside and out. Draco had casted a charm that wouldn't allow Hermione to leave the room until dawn when the sunlight touches her door. He didn't want her coming out. He didn't want to see her. He needed to be alone for a while.

* * *

><p><em>Oh, you can't hear me cry<em>

_See my dreams all die_

_From where you're standing_

_On your own._

_It's so quiet here_

_And I feel so cold_

_This house no longer_

_Feels like home._

_Oh,when you told me you'd leave_

_I felt like I couldn't breath_

_My aching body fell to the floor_

_Then I called you at home_

_You said that you weren't alone_

_I should've known better_

_Now it hurts much more._

* * *

><p>The sun broke light into Hermione's window. Despite the light, her eyes felt heavy and took a lot of self will to lift them. They didn't flutter open like all the other days. They just opened as if she just closed her eyes for a moment. Her eyes were hallow filled and she slumped as she sat up.<p>

She remembered.

She remembered what happened that night. Draco hadn't erased her memories. Why not? She glanced at the door and saw that it was no longer broken into bits. Pushing herself off the bed, she walked over to it and swung it open. Looking out of her room, a breath caught itself in her throat. Nothing was disarrayed. Nothing was broken. Everything was fine. Everything was perfect. Everything was pristine.

"I don't understand..." Hermione heard herself as under her breath.

"Understand what?"

Hermione's eyes redirected themselves to where she heard the voice; Draco's side of the dorm; his room. There, Draco stood outside his door, closing it behind him, while at the same time fixing his crooked tie into perfection. His hair combed back with not a hair out of place. His eyes were still sharp as a knife and blue as the miraculous sky. His lips were devilishly thin as usual. And his skin was pale as the last time Hermione saw them, but of all these things, one thing bothered Hermione. The wounds. The blood. They were gone.

When Hermione didn't reply, Draco scoffed and gave her a scowling look that she was so used to seeing. "Get your pretty little ass moving, Princess. Or else what sort of bloody role model are you for a Head Girl?" He paused, looking at her up and down. Then he shut his eyes for a split moment and exhaled. "I'm leaving. Cover yourself up, Mudblood. No one wants to be seeing your body." Then with that and the perfecting of his tie and cuffs, Draco left for the door.

"Wait a minute, Malfoy!" Hermione called after him. She took a few steps just to get him back in her view again. Once he was, she could see that he stopped. "What...what about last night?"

"Excuse me?"

"Last night...the blood, the wounds, the torn shirt...What was all that about?" Hermione gave Draco a look of real concern, to which Draco ignored with the same arrogant look he featured day in and day out.

"Sounds like you've been watching too much of your Muggle movies, Princess," he replied before turning back and heading for the door once again. "Every heard of the phenomenon 'dreaming' before?" He scoffed, opened the door, and left.

Leaving, Hermione stood there angry. Angry at the fact that what she knew...she knew happened! It wasn't a dream. She knew it wasnt... It wasnt. Hermione angrily sighed and went back to her room and quickly. While bustling and changing into the uniform, in the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. "No one wants to be seeing your body." . For a second, Hermione thought to herself what the hell Malfoy's problem could've been. Then she realize that he'd always been that way.

First year, he ridiculed her hair. Second year, her face. Then during Third year, it was her "late bloomers" phase. After that, Fourth and Fifth year insults became more aggressive, calling her one of those names for girls who get passed around, just for the hell of it. Then in Sixth year...it was still the same, yet some what different. He lessened up. But hell, he had a motive for it. He got it. It left her in shambles.

And he knew that.

* * *

><p>Draco walked with a purpose in the stone halls. Everywhere he went, he made heads turn. Then after that head turning moment, everyone looked away, back to what they were doing in the first place, not remembering any clue as to why they looked at Draco in the first place. It wasn't until Draco ran into Blaise that Draco encountered his first individual that wasn't fool by the charm.<p>

"Your face," Blaise started out. "...I assume this was His doing."

Draco replied to him without sparing a glance, but he ignored the question knowing that Blaise already knew the answer. " What're you using a counter charm for, Blaise?"

Blaise shrugged and turned his head to Draco. "Just for detecting things that aren't what they seem to be...It's proven to be quite useful during these Dark Times, you know."

Draco scoffed as he passed by other students who walked casually on by past him. " Hn. Apparently, not everyone's caught on yet..."

* * *

><p><strong>(AN): **Long await update? :) Yes? Sorry you guys! Please look up the song "So Cold" by Ben Cocks, which is the song that inspired me to get back to writing this, AND where those italicized lyrics came from. Its super super good. My word :)


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